US Navy Wants To Place Anti-UAV Laser On A Hummer
- 10 years ago
Navy officials are working to incorporate lasers on ground based vehicles. The Office of Naval Research recently announced that they plan to mount an Anti- UAV or Unmanned Aerial Vehicles Laser on a Hummer.
Navy officials are working to incorporate lasers on ground based vehicles. The Office of Naval Research recently announced that they plan to mount an anti-UAV, or Unmanned Aerial Vehicle Laser on Humvees.
The truck-mounted laser systems are part of a project called the Ground-Based Air Defense Directed Energy On-the-Move program or GBAD. The lasers will be outputting 30 kilowatts and will target enemy UAVs.
Colonel William Zamagni who leads the Office of Naval Research's Expeditionary Maneuver Warfare and Combating Terrorism Department remarked “We can expect that our adversaries will increasingly use Unmanned Aerial Vehicles and our expeditionary forces must deal with that rising threat… GBAD employed in a counter UAV role is just the beginning of its use and opens myriad other possibilities for future expeditionary forces.”
The GBAD laser will reportedly be able to cover extended distances at the speed of light. It will also stop incoming missiles traveling at supersonic speeds.
Preliminary testing on the 10 kilowatt model will take place this year, while the 30 kilowatt version most likely won’t be put to use until sometime in 2016. Once perfected, the system can be mounted on varying sized tactical vehicles, not just Humvees.
Navy officials are working to incorporate lasers on ground based vehicles. The Office of Naval Research recently announced that they plan to mount an anti-UAV, or Unmanned Aerial Vehicle Laser on Humvees.
The truck-mounted laser systems are part of a project called the Ground-Based Air Defense Directed Energy On-the-Move program or GBAD. The lasers will be outputting 30 kilowatts and will target enemy UAVs.
Colonel William Zamagni who leads the Office of Naval Research's Expeditionary Maneuver Warfare and Combating Terrorism Department remarked “We can expect that our adversaries will increasingly use Unmanned Aerial Vehicles and our expeditionary forces must deal with that rising threat… GBAD employed in a counter UAV role is just the beginning of its use and opens myriad other possibilities for future expeditionary forces.”
The GBAD laser will reportedly be able to cover extended distances at the speed of light. It will also stop incoming missiles traveling at supersonic speeds.
Preliminary testing on the 10 kilowatt model will take place this year, while the 30 kilowatt version most likely won’t be put to use until sometime in 2016. Once perfected, the system can be mounted on varying sized tactical vehicles, not just Humvees.